COP28: TRANSITIONING AWAY FROM FOSSIL FUELS

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

CONTEXT: In the recently concluded COP28 Summit, the global leaders took a small step towards moving away from fossil fuels. The adopted Dubai Consensus resolution calls for “just” and  “orderly” acceleration towards renewables.

EXPLANATION

• It is for the first time that a consensus has been reached to move away from fossil fuels, a major bone of contention for almost 40 years.
• Many countries, represented by small-island nations, wanted the agreement to be on ‘complete phase-out’. However, in the final document, it was diluted.

WHAT TRANSPIRED?

• The attitude of middle-income developing countries, who were very uncertain about the much hyped phased out of fossil fuels, was the main reason behind the ‘softening the text’.
• The host UAE, one of the biggest oil producers, has faced criticism for close ties with fossil fuel interests from the start, especially after oil executive al-Jaber was appointed to preside over the negotiations.
• This raised the conflict-of-interest issues.

HOW THE TRANSITION WILL BE ACHIEVED?

• The renewable energy pledge aims to triple the world’s green energy capacity to 11,000 GW by 2030. This agreement has been signed by 118 countries.
• Countries are also rooting for carbon capture and storage, a technology that oil producers want to use to continue drilling.
• Another important factor is the requirement for countries to submit stronger carbon cutting plans by 2025.
• If China and India, among the top polluters, put a rapid transition to green energy at the heart of these new commitments, that could make a massive difference to the global effort.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE WORLD

• According to the IPCC, creating a path to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is the best shot at keeping global temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degrees C by the end of the century.
• This implies cutting emissions to 43% of 2019 levels by 2030 and 60% by 2035.

CHALLENGES TO PLEDGES

• Lack of greater short-term emissions cuts is the key weakness being cited by experts.
• Developed countries, even though they have made tall promises, have fallen short of fulfilling them.
• For example, a 2009 commitment to mobilise $100 billion a year between 2020 and 2025 has only been partially realized.
• Most of the funding provided by the developed countries to developing countries for transition have been in the form of loans and not grants.

INDIA-SPECIFIC CHALLENGES

• Developed nations, in over a century of fossil fuel usage, have already used the available carbon space. This leaves very little space for countries like India, whose per capita use of energy is way behind developed countries’.
• The poor financial condition of power distribution companies (discoms) remains the most important challenge for further scaling up renewables in India.
• India has been heavily dependent on importing solar panels.
• There are issues of rising costs, labor constraints, and supply chain bottlenecks, which are impeding renewable energy projects.

CONCLUSION:

• The consensus on ridding the world of fossil fuels is remarkable, given that it is for the first time that the conference yielded some concrete and realistic commitments.
• Given the limited carbon space, industrialised western nations must cede space by taking on more stringent reductions than they have committed to so far.
• A global net zero by 2050 should not imply a net zero for all countries at that time. Developed countries, with access to funds and advanced technologies, should take the lead.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/at-dubai-cop28-nations-reach-consensus-to-transition-from-fossil-fuels/article67633151.ece